Once upon a time a young girl liked to read. She grew up to be an adult (physically) who liked to read. And one day, due to an email she received saying, “Sign up for a chance to win these books” she did. And she won several online reader copies from IDW Comics & Entertainment and Top Shelf Productions. She was excited. Finally a lunchtime came where she could start reading. She was not sure which one to start with, but since one book had come out the day before, she figured she would start with reading that one. It also was a shorter read and one she assumed she could quickly read for lunchtime.
The title was interesting. She had read the premise before receiving her reader copy via an email and thought that The Marsh Fellows by Anna-Laura Sullivan was going to become a new favorite graphic novel. Now, there were several bumps along the way, but she liked the happy and silly tone. Things were fun, fast-moving, and cozy. The grown-up girl knew, and other adults might know the story (a street kid finding a home, environmental issues, and corrupt government) and figure out some of the twists, but ages 8 to 13 will find the material fresh.
She found Urchin, the street kid, an older couple known as the town-crazies and a not so nice mayor on the pages. She saw some interesting illustrations that were mostly dark to fit with an almost dystopian theme. It felt like an old country (either Scandinavian, German or French) setting, that was set in the future due to the part realism and part science fiction combination. She could tell though there was “tension” to the events, she knew it would work out in the end. And while she would give this book a rating of four, it was more of a 3.5 or 3.75 rating as it was not perfect for her, but she knew it was perfect for the right reader(s).
